Protectors

Chapter 19: A Moment In Time

Faith took a deep breath, turning to Amber. "Ready?"

"It feels like our first day all over again." Amber sighed, adjusting her backpack which rested upon her shoulders, its familiar weight feeling both physical and symbolic of the emotional burdens they carried.

"Yeah, except much worse." Faith said, swallowing the lump in her throat as the boys joined them in the hallway.

"Hey guys." Luke nodded as Rory walked over, giving Amber a kiss on the cheek. "Ready for this?"

"I don't know if I'd say ready..." Faith said, as Christopher wrapped an arm around her waist, giving her a kiss.

"It'll be alright." He said, hand resting on her hip. "I'll see you after class love."

"Bye." Faith reluctantly said, as the boys walked to their classes. Leaving Amber and Faith alone to face the masses. They slowly entered the classroom, all the students turning to face them. Then the whispers began.

"They're back...."

"Does anyone know why they were gone?"

"I heard..."

"Jack said he saw them..."

The hushed whispers filled the classroom, the professor nowhere in sight as the clock read 8 minutes till the beginning of class. Faith looked at the ground, following Amber silently as they slipped into the back corner of the room, avoiding the gaze of their classmates.

'Is it possible that this is almost worse than everything we've been through?' Faith whispered, feeling the familiar tightening of her chest.

'Definitely not. But it's up there..." Amber trailed off, feeling awkward with all the eyes on them. It was such a big campus, they didn't expect their absence to be noticed by anyone. They were interrupted by a large purse slamming down on the desk in front of them causing both girls to look up.

"I was hoping the rumors weren't true." Kendall sneered, looking down at them, Victoria and Paris standing by her side.

"Kendall." Amber greeted, voice cold.

"Didn't go running back to America?"

Amber sighed, "Why would we do that?"

"I thought you two were smart enough to know this isn't your place. You don't belong here." She scoffed. "Guess I gave you too much credit."

Amber opened her mouth about to retort as the professor walked in.

"Consider this a warning. I'll only give it once." Kendall sneared, offering them a fake smile before flipping her hair over her shoulder and walking away.

Amber sighed, 'I had forgotten about them.' She thought to Faith, whose eyes were still glued to the floor.

'Me too.' She responded. 'What did we ever do to her?'

'Be international students I suppose.' Amber shrugged. 'What's that warning even about?'

'No idea.' Faith shrugged, 'It's not like we exactly run with her crowd.' She thought back, thinking about the student body and the acquaintances they had made last term.

The school was pretentious, well known for its historical standing and education and the social status of many of the students much exceeded their humble backgrounds, but that shouldn't mean much. Should it?

Amber's mind was sifting through similar questions as she pushed the thoughts aside. They had much greater concerns at the moment. Turning her attention back to the lecture, she let out a sigh, her mind much too preoccupied to hear anything that was being taught.